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Mint
Photo:
Peppermint, David MacTavish, Kitchen garden,
Burlington, ON, July 17 2010
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Grown at Hutchinson Farm since
2010. Available from May 2018, in 4½" pots,
planters, and hanging baskets.
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Winter
Hardiness: Perennial
Light Requirements: Any
Height: 12 - 20"
Width: it spreads and spreads and spreads
There is an abundance of different types of mint. We
always grow the standard peppermint and spearmint,
plus some more exotic mints as well.
- In the Garden
Mint will grow practically anywhere, and
we strongly suggest planting it in containers.
Use caution when planting mint in the ground -it
is invasive, and may spread everywhere. It can
be difficult to get rid of, so make sure it is
thoroughly contained.
Hanging baskets are perfect for growing
mint...it can't spread, and you'll get lots of
mint by the end of the summer.
- In the
Kitchen
Used in almost all cuisines of
the world, mint can flavour every part of your
meal, from appetizer to dessert.
Peppermint tends to be used with
sweeter recipes (desserts). Dry the leaves for
a yummy tea.
Spearmint is most often used in savory
dishes. Classic uses include mint sauce,
jelly, and juleps.
Mojito Mint
from Richter's Herbs:
Cuba’s
famed mojito cocktail,
once a daily favourite of Ernest Hemingway,
has enjoyed a meteoric resurgence in
popularity ever since James Bond drank one
in the movie Die
Another Day. The mojito,
made with rum, sugar, lime juice and Cuba’s
unique mojito mint,
is now an essential staple of cocktail
lounges everywhere. While recipes call for
any available variety of spearmint, the real mojito can
only be made with the true mojito mint.
This mint was impossible to get in North
America but thanks to Toronto
mojito enthusiast
Catherine Nasmith who visited Cuba in 2006
we now have the authentic plant from Cuba.
It is clearly different from most other
mints -- its scent and flavour are agreeably
mild and warm, not pungent nor overly sweet
like other mints. In a perhaps typically
Cuban understated way its warm embrace
lingers until you realize you want more.
Like all mints it is easy to grow and will
happily provide more than enough fresh
sprigs for your mojitos. Salud!
Mini Mint (new 2017)
AKA Corsican Mint. Only 1 - 2" tall, this
little mint will spread up to 12" the first
year, making it a great ground cover, but
beware, like all mints it is hard to get rid
of!
It is a mild peppermint type, famous as the
flavouring of Crème de menthe liqueur, but is
more commonly used as an ornamental.
Best used fresh, use only the leaves, not the
stem. Dry, or blanche and freeze to preserve.
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